But the fact is, if I'm a Swiss hockey player, I don't really care if I'm not going to win a gold medal. Same if I'm Latvian or Slovenian, or anything else. I'm proud to play for my country -- I'm proud to lose with my country.

Being outdoors and enjoying nature is one of the happiest parts of my life. Cross country skiing is in that category of happy experiences. In fact, it is probably at the very top of the list. It is an amazing way to be outside, get some fresh air and make friends. Best of all it is really easy to learn.

I am a curvy woman and also very active. When I first started running in 1991, I quickly understood the need for proper support. Recently, I spoke with Olivia Leroux, Marketing and Sales Manager of Anita Canada. Olivia shared with me the top tips for women of all shapes, to find the best fitting athletic bra.

We all -- as fans -- pretended we were outraged and shocked when our favourite players, our icons were named to the lists and the reports and the chapters of Jose Canseco's memoir. In fact, we were pretending when we treated these guys as icons in the first place. They're just men... silly, stupid, bloated, inflated men with egos and fears and faults.

Although for Taylor, football seems to be about fun, fitness and friends, she is building potential inside herself, as well as creating an example for other girls about what is possible when you go after what you want. Perhaps she doesn't see that just yet. But I think she will.

Even though the absence of the home team in the 102nd Grey Cup may disappoint fans in Vancouver, the city's mayor is still upbeat about the CFL championship game that takes place this weekend. It's an event that will entertain residents and visitors alike, mayor Gregor Robertson promised during a press conference on Wednesday.

In Toronto, it's better bad. It's better like this, with the Leafs believing in only themselves -- believing in nobody but whoever's in that locker room. That means not trusting the always-mocked, never-defined, too-general MEDIA -- going to the mattresses, so to speak. Burying themselves in their bunker until they're one with Lord Stanley's handiwork.

Typically when I am rolling into Vancouver, I am wearing the cyclist's uniform of a merino wool top, waterproof jacket and stretchy cycling pants. In the back of my mind, I had always thought of how fantastic it would be if I could arrive to a meeting wearing something stylish and comfortable to ride in. My day has finally come.

Why not take a vacation and lower your handicap on a sunnier green? Hotel comparison site trivago.ca researched the world's greatest courses to find the best golf hotels that are sure to be a hole in one all year-round. Whether you're travelling with your buddies, your sweetheart, or with the whole family in tow, there's no reason to stop golfing just because it's the "off-season."

I know a lot of folks think they're football fans without considering what has to be done to prepare for the upcoming season. For some reason, they think they can just wile away the summer and start their TV football viewing with no preparation. Serious fans, however, know that the key to successful sports viewing is preparation, lots of preparation.

As kids head back to school, hoping to make this year's sports teams, University of Toronto public health professor and family doctor Ross Upshur is calling for stronger action to prevent sports-related concussion in children and youth.

While the players and fans from Brazil mourned their brutal loss, my son shared the same feelings of defeat. From his folded arms, sulky stare and giant pout -- he was clearly angry about the unfortunate outcome. My son's passionate reaction to the Brazil upset made me reflect on how difficult learning to lose gracefully can be for kids -- and even parents, too.

With the competition in full swing, millions spend hours sitting in front of TVs and computer screens, while their teams engage in grueling matches. Even if you discount all the drinking and snacking that typically comes with watching games on television, the fact that people sit for extended periods of time is disconcerting enough.

More and more women appear to be taking up important roles in the sports world, which propels others forward. Kim Ng, for example, was the youngest person -- and the first woman -- to present a salary arbitration case in the major leagues when working for the Chicago White Sox as a special projects analyst. She won.

For a crowd with a reputation like the Thunder's, this is unacceptable. The prevailing idea is that with nothing else to do and no other major league sports teams to root for in Oklahoma, Thunder basketball means everything to the locals -- they live and die with every KD jumpshot and Westbrook foray into the lane.

Does digital activism against MacLean, Cooke, and Sterling provide real tools to force change? Or, is it merely a technologically-enabled show of customer-generated publicity that is either entirely self-serving or destined to be co-opted by the very sports-entertainment businesses against which its putative anger is aimed? I say the plusses win out.

During the Olympics, you heard stories of athletes who sustained serious injuries and are back at their sport. But what about when the injuries hit close to home affecting your kids, your friends or yourself? The future is unknown when it comes to injuries and can be filled with chronic pain, disability and rehabilitation. So how can we prevent sport-related injuries?

I agree when Strombo says that he can leave his personal biases aside when talking about teams other than his beloved Montreal Canadiens, but do sports journalists really have less serious reporting to do than traditional journalists? Is Strombo right that the fan and journalist roles in sports are unlikely to clash? Recent events say no.

The players have checked out, and they look exhausted. It's not Tortorella's ice time that's killing them... it's the Luongo deal, the Schneider deal, and everything that's happened in the past three seasons. They're chewing old gum, pretending they're still sucking sugar.